1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a portable terminal, and in particular, to a portable terminal in which a pair of housing can rotate while facing each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, portable terminals may be classified into bar-type terminals, flip-type terminals, and folder-type terminals according to their appearance. In the bar-type terminal, a transmitting unit (or a mouthpiece), a receiving unit (or an earpiece), a keypad, and a display device are mounted in a single housing. Since a keypad as a data input unit is exposed at all times, the bar-type terminal is likely to malfunction. Moreover, there is a limitation on miniaturization of the bar-type terminal because a sufficient distance should be maintained between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit.
The flip-type terminal includes a main body, a flip, and a hinge module that combines the main body with the flip. In the flip-type terminal, the transmitting unit, the receiving unit, the keypad, and the display device are mounted in the main body and malfunctioning can be reduced by the flip that covers a keypad as a data input unit. However, there is also a limitation on miniaturization of the flip-type terminal because a sufficient distance should be maintained between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit.
The folder-type terminal includes a main body, a folder, and a hinge module that rotatably combines the main body with the folder. The folder is opened and closed by rotation. When the folder is folded on the main body, it is possible to prevent a keypad from malfunctioning through a call wait mode. When the folder is opened in a call mode, a sufficient distance can be secured between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit, contributing to miniaturization of the terminal.
A mobile communication service using a portable terminal has expanded its range from voice communication and short message transmission to an entertainment service such as games and ring tones and a multimedia service such as moving pictures and on-demand audio/video. At present, terrestrial/satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) can be provided through a portable terminal and a portable terminal having a display device that is rotatable from its longitudinal position to its latitudinal position is provided in order to allow users to conveniently enjoy moving pictures or a broadcasting service.
In order to prevent a housing from being interfered with by another housing during rotation of the display device, some corners of the housing are formed curved, causing a need to reduce the size of the display device.